In the summer of 1953 two nations with a long mountaineering tradition in the Himalaya go on expedition to mountains that have a special meaning for them. In the eastern zone the expedition led by Col. Hunt and Edmund Hillary attacks Everest and in the wester zone an Austrian-German expedition, led by Dr. Karl Herrligkoffer, begins the assault on the formidable Nanga Parbat, a mountain that has claimed 31 victims. The film describes this assault and is dedicated to Herrmann Bubl, the greatest climber of this time.